MASSACHUSETTS RATEPAYERS HAVE lost hundreds of millions of dollars to third-party electric suppliers — and we have our best chance in years to stop them.

As mayors of Methuen, Malden, and Melrose, we hear about these companies constantly. Residents come to us trapped in complex contracts, facing bills far higher than they’d pay on basic service, with few avenues for recourse. We’ve also heard the same stories from municipal leaders across the Commonwealth. And we’ve each built community choice electricity programs that prove there’s a better way.

But individual cities can only do so much under the current law. Since 2018, competitive electric suppliers have overcharged Massachusetts households by $739 million compared to basic service rates, according to a new report from the attorney general’s office. Low-income families have been hit hardest, with an average loss of $286 in the most recently tracked year. Twenty-nine percent of low-income households are enrolled with a supplier, compared to just 16 percent of other households.

H.5175, the energy affordability package that recently cleared the House, includes a municipal opt-out provision that would let cities and towns ban predatory suppliers from signing or renewing residential contracts. Paired with new limits on automatic renewals, variable-rate contracts, and aggressive door-to-door sales tactics, the bill would give communities the tools we have been asking for.

Building on past sessions’ efforts — including the Senate’s work on this issue — the Legislature should advance these provisions to the governor’s desk.

Our residents get inundated with mailers, approached by aggressive salespeople outside grocery stores, and pushed into contracts with fine print designed to confuse. An initial teaser rate gives way to prices that dwarf what customers would have paid on basic service. One analysis found suppliers overcharged Massachusetts customers by $81 million in 2024 alone. When residents try to cancel, they run into early termination fees and automatic renewals they never agreed to.

The harm compounds an already painful reality for many families. Massachusetts already has some of the highest residential electricity rates in the country. In a state where residents say utility bills are their top concern for household budgets, predatory suppliers make an affordability crisis measurably worse. And the AG’s data show these companies target the communities least equipped to absorb the loss: communities of color and households where English is not the first language are enrolled at higher rates and pay higher premiums.

Adding to the pain, the AG found these tactics force more families into bill-payment assistance programs, which are funded by all ratepayers. Between July 2024 and June 2025, this led to nearly $10 million in extra costs for everyone.

Our community choice electricity programs, through which municipalities buy power in bulk at better prices, show what the alternative looks like.

In Methuen, the program enrolled 77 percent of all electricity accounts in its first month and saved residents over $323,000 right away, with rates locked in through 2027. In Malden, the program saved participating households and businesses $1.5 million in its first year alone, with rates also locked in through 2027. And Melrose has been saving residents money since 2016 through a community power program that currently offers rates below National Grid’s basic service while including additional renewable energy.

These programs offer stable pricing, genuine renewable energy options, and accountability to voters, and prove that affordability and clean energy can go hand in hand.

A decade of enforcement by the attorney general’s office has exposed the worst actors and secured important settlements. The Department of Public Utilities has tightened oversight and threatened fines. But suppliers have resisted transparency at every turn, sometimes declaring bankruptcy to dodge accountability. Regulation alone has not changed this industry’s behavior in Massachusetts or in other states, and without legislation, regulators will keep chasing the same companies through the same cycle.

Language in H.5175 dealing with third-party electric suppliers would break that cycle. The municipal opt-out provision empowers communities to decide for themselves whether these companies belong in our neighborhoods. The bill’s consumer protections would move Massachusetts from having some of the weakest safeguards for residential electricity customers to some of the strongest.

We still believe an outright statewide ban on third-party suppliers is the best long-term answer. But this bill represents one of the most significant steps the Legislature has come close to enacting on this issue — and a rare moment of alignment, with the House, Senate, and governor’s office all signaling support.

As supporters of the Campaign to Stop Predatory Electric Suppliers and as mayors who have built community choice programs from the ground up, we urge the Legislature to pass H.5175 this session.

Our residents have waited long enough.

D.J. Beauregard is the mayor of Methuen. Gary Christenson is the mayor of Malden. Jen Grigoraitis is the mayor of Melrose.